Cohasset teen turns unique Christmas present into summer business

COHASSET, Mass. — A local teen has turned his love of boating with his dad into a small business, sparked by a unique Christmas gift at age ten.

For 17-year-old Ryan Dowden, the waters off Cohasset are his second home.

“I’m out here so much that I feel like I just know the harbor,” said Ryan Dowden of Cohasset.

As he gets ready to enter his senior year in high school, he is soaking in every second of his summer with his friends lobstering.

“So there’s three traps out here at the lighthouse,” said Dowden as he steered his boat.

But it was his time with his dad out on these waters at an early age that spawned his interest.

“We would go out fishing on the boat all the time,” said Dowden. “It was our way of spending time with each other. We would escape Saturday nights. We’d go out at sunset.”

And Christmas in 2017, Ryan received a new tool to use out on the water.

“A brand-new lobster trap,” said Dowden. “I’m ecstatic because it was just so random. But I loved it and was awesome. It is also the thought of it because you know we got to do stuff together.”

Ryan’s first haul—-three lobsters.

“Everyone was so happy and we had like a big cookout and it was a big thing,” said Dowden. “And that’s kind of when I felt like I got hooked to it and that’s where it started.”

As Ryan’s interest grew, so did the number of his lobster traps. He learned the ropes from observing other lobstermen.

“We’re looking for eggs, so no eggs underneath,” Dowden explained as he caught a male lobster. “Then you’re looking to see if it has a V notch.”

And when he was a freshman in high school, he got a commercial license so he could sell his lobsters.

“People would just swipe up, DM me or they’ll just text me if they know me personally,” said Dowden.

His business—02025--marked on his hat he sells and by these distinctive buoys that celebrate Ryan and his dad’s favorite schools.

“I’m a Notre Dame fan, but my dad’s a BC grad and teaches there,” said Dowden. “So we had to kind of compromise, and so gold is for both of their colors and then I got the navy blue, he got the maroon for BC.”

Ryan does most of his lobstering with his friends, and he makes a little profit, but the bigger prize is spending that quality time, creating memories out on the water.

“I grew up here, I love being on the water,” said Dowden. “That’s just what I like to do. So I get to spend time with all my friends who I otherwise don’t see during the school year. And that’s kind of just what we do. We’re out all the time. And it’s just, we have fun every time we go out, whether we catch zero lobsters or 10 lobsters.”

Interestingly Ryan isn’t looking into major in business—-instead he wants to focus on education. His brother has autism and Ryan has been involved with the Special Olympics, so special education is something that is close to his heart.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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